Saudi Globalstar meets target and reduces charges

Saudi Globalstar, a provider of satellite telephony solutions, has announced a drop in its call charges as of February. The company says this reduction is as a result of it meeting in targets in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Globalstar, a provider of satellite telephony solutions, has announced a drop in its call charges as of February. Calls within the Middle East will cost 2.95 riyals per minute and calls to other regions, around six riyals. The company says this reduction is as a result of it meeting in targets in Saudi Arabia.

“Although we are not in profit yet we are fully expecting to be by mid-2003. This technology is a long term investment and we are pleased to be so close to profitability so soon into our operation,” said Abdulsattar Abalkhail, manager of corporate sales.

“Our most successful products have been the fixed base stations that can provide telephone networks for company operations where there are no fixed lines or GSM coverage. These stations can be attached to a LAN or PBX to give coverage of an entire building or facility. Clients include Aramco, SCECO and the government and military,” Abakhail explained.

Saudi Globalstar has most of its technology in its base station, located 50km outside Riyadh. This means that it can improve tehnology on the ground rather than being restricted by satellites becoming obsolete in orbit. The satellites, owned by US company Qualcom, simply reflect the signal from one base station to another. Because there are 48 of them in a low orbit it means the phone or fixed line can ususally see more than one satellite so if one signal is disrupted it can use another. The low orbit also helps reception quality and reduces delay.

“Our CDMA technology allows the signal to be merged or demerged as necessary giving us greater flexibility than relying on TDMA,” added Abelkhair. “With our partners we have 25 gateways around the world so if you are between latitudes 70’ north and 70’ south, you will be able to get a signal with our technology,” he concluded.